New York City to Add 3G and Wi-Fi to Subway Tunnels

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If you take the subway to and from work or school, you know that your commute can be pretty boring sometimes if you have nothing to do, and while there’s nothing wrong with a nice, quiet, phone-free ride to work, sometimes you want to check your e-mail or do a little Web surfing on the way in. Thankfully, if you live in New York City, you too will be able to use your 3G or Wi-Fi device while you’re underground, thanks to the city’s new initiative to add both 3G and Wi-Fi coverage to its vast network of underground subway tunnels, not just the stations between them.

The New York Daily News reports that a four-company joint venture is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City to install Wi-Fi and 3G cellular network gear in all 277 underground stations, a project that has been in the works for years, and now that the MTA has signed off on the plans, construction can begin. The wireless companies involved in the construction have all committed to building as much signal strength as possible into the installed equipment so passengers will be able to access their preferred wireless network when they’re standing on platforms as well as riding the trains deep underground.